Agent Who?
by Average Addict
Summary: Doctor, who might you be?
1. Stories

**Agent Who**

Can I tell you a story? You like stories, don't you. Brilliant! I do love stories.

There was a race before the beginning of time. Shh.. Not now, Anthony. Oh thank you, George. The tea is quite lovely.

So as I was saying: race before the beginning of time. Well before time there was... That is correct. Darkness. Pure. Unadulterated. Darkness.

The Dark was too solid for anything to pass through it. Nothing could survive the cold. Bless you, Lucy. Here, take my handkerchief. That was hand woven from the sixth planet of Lorien. Beautiful planet. Beautiful people. A fine species, they are. Or _were_ is a more accurate term... Ahh, let's not digress from the story. Yes?

So where was I? Oh, that's right. Thank you, Lucy.

Well, nothing could survive the cold and dark. And for centuries and for millenniums, only the Dark ruled. This Dark did have a name.

The Nox grew arrogant as their power evolved. But it was that arrogance that caused their downfall.

You see, during the height of their empire, they stumbled upon the only thing willing to get in their way: the Lumax.

At first, the Nox were not threatened by the Lumax. Because the Lumax were so small and fragile that it had little to no effect. So they fed the Lumax. They fed it with salts from their kingdom and after a millennia or so, it grew enough to penetrate the Darkness.

The Lumax took back the land the Nox ruled over, little by little. Small planets, first. Then systems. Then galaxies. Then whole worlds. The Nox were alarmed at the rate the Lumax grew. But by the time they managed an attack fleet, they were outnumbered.

The Lumax expelled the Dark, or so they thought.

You see, light cannot exist without dark. So the Nox continued surviving. They never really disappeared. And if you think about it, the Nox were the reason Lumax existed in the first place.

Some legends describe this battle as the battle of Light and Dark.

Have you ever heard of the phrase, 'The closer I got to the light, the bigger my shadows became...' ?

This may be the most accurate a human has ever come to unlocking the beginning of time.


	2. As Per Usual

**Agent Who**

_Some forty years ago…_

As per usual, Marissa Fittes' sat all alone in her usual spot under the usual old Alder tree.

Everything seemed ordinary; everything the same like the world was just running on its 'extremely normal routine' axis. Days like this made Marissa want to follow the clouds and chase voices just to have something to do.

It was the second year's free period. The usual flirty girls giggled with their cliques. One of them snuck a glance at one of the boys and flipped their long golden hair. Marissa could see the smug looks on the boys faces.

Marissa shifted uncomfortably in her long gray skirt. It was the standard color of most-if not all-academies in Northern England: Dull and boring. Marissa exhaled and leaned back, letting the tree carry her weight.

Through the lush green foliage, Marissa saw crisp blue skies and wonderful white clouds. The weather didn't seem to match Marissa's mood. That alone lifted her spirits.

_Maybe today will be different!_ She said to herself.

She sat in silence for a moment. Letting the warm spring breeze tickle her face. Somewhere with the wind, an echo was singing softly. So quietly that it drowned in the noise of the other students. The echo was so worried no one was going to hear its song. So it sang louder. But it was nothing but a mere whisper.

It was so sure no one could hear it and flew away sadly. The spell broke, and Marissa started giggling uncontrollably. Just a soft chuckle that couldn't have been louder than the echoes, but it was a laugh all the same and somebody heard it.

A fiery ginger boy came up the hill. He called out Marissa's name through shortened breaths. But the boy with a face splashed with a hundred freckles fell face first onto the green grass.

"Henry? It's much better to admire the grass from where I'm standing." Marissa said as she stood to hand the boy's glasses.

The boy jerked up and peered at her dangerously. "Marissa," He said menacingly. His electric blue eyes cackled with energy. All Marissa could do was give him a weak smile.

The stare down lasted longer than Henry would've liked. Marissa stood calm and easy with her chocolate eyes trained on Henry's. It was easy to get lost in her curious gaze. The red head Henry could feel his cheeks flaring. Finally, he sighed, "You forgot, didn't you."

Marissa was about to respond when a shriek pierced the air and a chill raced down their spines.

Without a moment's hesitation, Marissa sprinted towards the source of the scream as Henry groaned and chased after her.

* * *

"Please," The loud whispers stopped until only a soft sniffling could be heard.

"Step away from the body." All heads turned towards the commanding voice. The boy walked as the crowd parted like Moses did with the Red Sea.

He could see its form from where he stood. It was awfully close to the living. _Strange_, he thought. It never did that before. He tucked the new information away for safekeeping. You never know when small details like those come in handy.

A cloud covered the sun and casted a chilling shadow over the courtyard. A strange feeling settled in his stomach. Alien thoughts of grief and illnesses filled his head. A heavy weight settled in his chest. Judging from the shifting of the bodies, he could tell the others watching could feel it as well. Unease took hold of every person nearby.

With a shaky breath, he bent down to examine the lifeless body.

"Just like all the others' eh, Mr. Penton?" The boy said to the old professor who looked over his shoulder. The professor nodded and said, "Poor Emma. They were just sitting there when a shadow grabbed her. She didn't get a chance to yell for help." The professor shook his head sadly.

The boy continued working, checking the girl's pockets and patting the body down, carefully avoiding the frigid skin. He didn't respond when the professor finished. He found that emotions get in the way when facing these types of killings. All the same, it was hard to watch a fellow student die. Especially when he was so close that he could've stopped it from happening.

He clenched his fists and tried not to let the anger boil inside him. Behind him, he could feel bodies shift uncomfortably. He could see the shadow burn brighter, like it was growing excited. And he knew he wouldn't like to see it fully alive or as close to alive as it could get.

It took sometime to realize the shaky feeling he got wasn't from the shadow. He looked down at his cold and trembling hands. He clenched his fists and took a deep breath.

He flinched for a half second the moment he felt a warm hand cover his. But he knew who it was before he looked up. He jerked up to meet her sharp gaze and felt the world melt away.

"Focus, Tomas. You know how they get to you." She said in a sure and steady voice.

"Hey there, Reese. How long has it been? Two, three days give or take?" He flashed her a grin that made any other girl swoon but Tomas knew Marissa Fittes was anything but any other girl.

She shook her head disapprovingly and replied curtly, "Not the time to start flirting, Tomas. We can catch up later." She began to move her hand away but Tom held on quickly.

Marissa regarded him questioningly; the look on his face was an expression rarely seen on Tomas Rotwell.

He motioned slightly to the growing shadow in the corner. It looked disheartened, like it let its precious prey go and was scouring the crowd for it.

"Do you see it?" He whispered. Marissa caught on to his tone and nodded, "But not as clearly as you can."

"What's it saying?" Marissa closed her eyes and inclined her head towards the Source. Tom blushed but didn't move away and was pleased with himself for getting Marissa to lean closer (even if that was never intended plan).

Finally after what seemed like an age (not that Tom was complaining though), Marissa opened her eyes and shook her head. "I could only get a faint whisper, it sounds like she's singing."

"She?" Marissa nodded again. Only Tom wasn't listening anymore. His mind worked on overdrive thinking of a million possibilities and crossing out a billion.

Marissa knew to expect nothing when he got like this. Instead, she quietly continued examining the body. Emma's once pale and beautiful face was covered with blue and purple bruises. Marissa sniffled a little, took out her handkerchief and gently covered her face.

Emma was not a friend of Marissa. She didn't acknowledge that they have been in the same school for nearly six years. Emma laughed at the old fashioned clothes Marissa chose to wear and snickered whenever she caught her eating alone under her Alder tree.

It was quite safe to say that she was not the most liked girl on campus, even amongst her group of friends. With the gathering crowd, this would've been a perfect chance for Marissa to extract her revenge on the poor dead girl. But where disgust and hate should've been, pity and sadness poured from Marissa's aching heart.

This has been the fourth death this month. Four deaths more than Marissa would've liked. All with the blue and black markings over their body. They'd sent word to Scotland Yard in the city, but so far no one's heard anything.

_I think a boring and mundane day would've been nicer than having another body to burn._ Marissa thought sadly to herself. The Prime Minister for the G.T.A. (Ghost and Technical Affairs) decreed that bodies touched by these paranormal creatures should be burned and not buried.

"Excuse me! Let me through, please!" Marissa perked up at the voice. She stood up to come face to face with Henry who struggled to weave through the mass of students and teachers.

"Marissa!" He exclaimed breathlessly as he pushed his round spectacles up.

"Stop running off like that? What if you got into trouble again!" Marissa blinked for a moment and giggled.

Henry groaned and rubbed his temples, "What is it this time?" He's known Marissa long enough to know that she's thought of another way to make fun of him.

"It's that you said 'stop running off like that' as a question rather than a statement and 'what if you got into trouble again' as a statement rather than a question. It's nothing really. Just quite ironic." And began another fit of giggles.

Henry sighed as if he was expecting that much. Well he should be, seeing as he is her childhood _and _best friend. He did find her odd, just like many students and teachers who knew her. Sometimes, he'd catch Marissa staring off into space with eyes glazed over like she was only half-there. It took Henry forever until he finally got her attention again and by that time he'd have to start all over again.

It was annoying, yes. But he didn't mind it as much anymore. It was just who she was. And that was one of the many things he liked about her.

With that said, Henry rubbed the back of his head and joined in Marissa's laughter. Both failed to notice Tom's irritated expression as he peered at them from where he knelt beside Emma's body.

* * *

The soft music turned to a piercing scream and Marissa bent over in a futile attempt to block the sound.

Marissa could hear muffled sounds of Henry's and Tom's voices like they were speaking through a wall or with cotton in their mouths.

The pain was dizzying and she could see spots dancing in her eyes but she struggled to keep them open. The shadow that hovered on the edge of the crowd was on the move.

And Marissa knew that she had to follow.


	3. Present London

**Agent Who**

_Present London, Twenty-two minutes to curfew_

I almost stumbled back into Detective Inspector Baker for the fourth time that evening.

"Are you alright, Madam Carlyle?" He asked me with feigned concern.

I pushed his outstretched hand, stood upright and waved him away. But the world was a blur and the crowd blended with the city's lights and sound.

"Don't you have something better to do, Detective Inspector?" He scowled, but left me to collect myself.

I could hear Lockwood and George conversing with a medic and some friends of the victim. The obvious cause of death was Ghost-touch, I knew that much. When George and I rushed to the scene of the crime, Lockwood was already taking notes.

_Well there goes our shopping day_, I thought groggily.

I noticed a shadow that's been bothering me for a while now. This was unlike any other normal Screecher, that's for sure. The faint outline started to drift away from the crowd and into the rushing traffic.

"George!" I called out and twisted my aching body to where I last saw the boys. I yelled out a couple more times, but none of them turned to my direction.

Lockwood was busy comforting a weeping mother and son, their deceased was lay on the ground with a blanket covering the victim's face. I've seen this scene too many times to count and each one left a similar impression of sadness in my heart. George was taking notes with a couple of officers in-charge and a witness who saw the boy drop dead.

With the heart breaking scene, I knew I should've been more sensitive, but I was getting panicky. And with a last good breath, I screamed "Hey!"

I was sure that would've gotten their attention, if not for the speeding Red Bus that chose to zip past the crime scene at the exact same time. The driver must've been in a hurry to get the rounds done before the curfew started. Damn those overpriced Big Bus Tours.

From out of the corner of my eye, I could tell the shadow was picking up speed and I knew I had to follow. I bit back a curse but there was no time to waste. I took a deep breath and sped towards the direction the creature was headed.

* * *

It's been an hour or so since I've last seen the ghost and every time, the song it sang faded as I drew nearer and played farther and farther away from where I stood.

A few measures of her song wore through the night and I had absolutely no idea how I came to the middle of this endless forest.

Leaning on a tree for support, I paused for a minute to catch my breath. I craned my neck to look past the thick green leaves; it took a while for my eyes to adjust in the sudden darkness. I willed my heartbeat to slow and my breath to steady. And slowly, then all at once, a billion stars came popping up like the flashes of offices lights in the city skyline.

"Wow, I never knew there was a huge forest in the middle of London...

"It's.. beautiful." I whispered.

A crunch on an empty can of soda sent my instincts spinning into action. "Yes, I agree," I felt the hairs on my back stand on edge and did everything I could to hold my body firmly to the ground.

"It's all very beautiful but umm,"

Everything happened in a whirl and I spun around ripping my rapier from my belt. I guess it was lucky that Lockwood and I have been practicing a neat new maneuver to pin an enemy from behind because the next second, I had the tip of my rapier to the man's throat.

"Do you mind putting that sword down?" He inched back bit-by-bit, both eyes trained on my sword drawing dangerously close to his Adam's apple.

In the dim light, I could only make out the ragged coat on his thin frame. The multiple rips and tears and burns on his shirt and trousers. There was all sorts of things splattered on his shirt. Ketchup, oil and… a green gooey sort that I did not care to find out. An odd looking bowtie slanted awkwardly to the side and was singed at the edge. It hung loosely like it could fall apart any moment.

His face was lined with ashes and wisps of smoke rose from his head. The smell of his burnt hair wafted into the air. He wore a pair of peculiar sunglasses with a bunch of yellow spirals going around the frame. Like a sort of 3D illusions that move when you keep your eyes off it, only drifting when you peer at it with the corner of your eyes. Strange, for a man to be wearing shades at night.

"You know it's really rude to point a sword at someone especially when they just wanted to ask for directions."

_You're one to talk, mister. _I thought.

"Who are you?" I asked, in a slightly annoyed tone.

The man instantly seemed to straighten up, not even bothering about the rapier I held, and adjusted the position of his peculiar looking bowtie.

"I'm the Doctor. Now, do you happen to have any fish fingers with custard at the moment?" It took a while for me to register the question properly in my head.

"Pardon?" I asked. But before I got to the part where I pull my special 'I-am-an-Agent-and-you-have-to-do-as-I-say Card' and demand he tell me what he was doing here, he fell face first into the dirt with a dreamy smile on his lips.

"Ahhh I should've brought the sword as well." He mumbled into the earth.

I looked at the fallen man with a mixture of worry, concern and apprehension, "Doctor?"

**Author's Note**

**Hello there! So I haven't updated this because I wasn't sure if the first two chapters were good. And I only plan to keep this short since I want to focus on the other story I've started. Ohh I have this awful hobbit of writing two and a whole bunch of stories at once and not finishing a single one. but I do hope to finish this because I haven't finished Doctor Who yet and yeahh :))**

**So if you've also read my other story (The Agent, The Ghost and The Wardrobe, that is) I hope you forgive me for being slow. I've decided that I wanted to re-write evrything because I wasnt satisfied with it :( **

**Well Thanks for reading! And dont forget that I love love love reviews~**


	4. Unexpected Detour

**Agent Who**

"So here we go again, Sexy." The Doctor ran his fingers along the master board of his beloved TARDIS.

"Question is," He did a 360 degree spin that would've made Michael Jackson jealous. His TARDIS made a groaning sound with her engines. "What do we do next?"

"Ha!" He slammed his hand on a big green glowing button and the control room began trembling. "How about the snow capped mountains of Boooed?" Another big green button down. "Yes, that's Boooed with three 'ooo's'." He let out a maniacal laugh. The TARDIS let out an apprehensive whirl.

"Come now. It's really a wonderful kind of place, but it gets rather chilly there this time around. And the cold won't do for your paint. Hmm… Maybe not." The Doctor clasped his hands and yelled, "Ah-ha! Would a quick visit to the Monks of Terrabithia make you feel better? They make the absolute greatest hot chocolate and crisps." The Doctor grinned at his companion.

"Fine then." The Doctor pouted with his arms crossed. "What do _you_ suggest?" He paused leaning against the rubber-matted handle for a minute. The TARDIS cranked and groaned and spun making the Doctor's grin grow wider and brighter with each beautiful rusty note.

A spark flashed overhead, dangerously close to the Doctor's head. The room jerked around randomly and smoke filled the grated floor. "Brilliant! Sword fighting fishes and powder fine sand. Why didn't I think of that?"

The Doctor's light fingers moved across his control board, adjusting the coordinates by just a few galaxies away. "The Ediseas it is! Beautiful clear skies and sunny sandy beaches, here we come!"

With a final hurrah, he pulled the lever and the room spun out of control.

* * *

Not a minute later, the Doctor's wind-tossed hair popped out from the blue doors.

"Well this isn't at all how I'd expected the Ediseas to look like." His voice trailed off.

They landed in the middle of a misty gray forest. The trees looked menacing and bent down as if to scold the Doctor for intruding on their sleep. He tried looking up to check if they were remotely close to any sunny beaches, but the trees were simply too tall to look past. Mangled roots lay by the base of the trees, as if they could get up and walk while nobody was watching.

The air had a heavy feeling to it. Like every happy memory he could think of would magically vanish. _It can't possibly be a Dementor_, he thought and whimpered a bit. A pale light filled the whole forest but it was cold and gray and frankly, didn't help much at all.

_Get a grip on yourself, Doctor! _He chided. _There are no such things as Dementors. Those only live on the planet of Freaed and they can't travel very far from their source... Oh dear... Maybe I shouldn't have taken J.K. to that part of the universe._

An eerie sounding screech from a crow sent the Doctor jumping, holding out his thin bendy looking sword out in front of him. The sword rippled awkwardly before sagging downwards like a sad looking banana.

"Fat lot of good you are." The Doctor muttered to the poor rapier. "You got the coordinates wrong!" The Doctor ripped off his odd looking sunglasses and turned to properly scold his TARDIS. But when he looked back, it was gone.

"No," He squeaked. "No. No. No. No. Oh no..." He searched the square imprint on the damp earth. It was the only indication that there had been anything there at all. He circled the square and the surrounding trees, hoping it would pop back any minute. But a minute turned into two, and two into ten and still no sign of anything resembling blue.

"I was rather looking forward to fighting fishes..." He sighed, dejectedly. "I guess there's nothing left for me to do but explore!"

He's seen worse situations. The final battle between him and the Master; the battle of the Time War, his people faced with the threat of extinction. And let's not forget his countless encounters with the Daleks. And those aren't even the most gruesome ones.

The thought of everything he's done to survive lifted his spirits. He straightened his bowtie and sheathed his rapier. It was silly to even bring it out in the first place. What was there to be afraid of anyway?

Since when did the Doctor become frightened of dark and foreboding forests? He laughed at the face of danger. He practically asked for foreboding in his extensive list of places to visit. There were no such things as ghosts. Now that he thought about it, he swore he could taste a tangy metallic scent in the air. Definitely no ghosts here.

With his ego in check and in its proper place, he took a step out of the square imprint.

His second foot hadn't even made it out of the small box when he heard the shrill scream.

"IT'S A GHOST!"

This normally would've sent anyone running down the opposite direction. Specifically _away _from the Ghost. But the Doctor's overwhelming curiosity and adrenaline kicked in and he sped towards the scream, his laughter echoing in the empty air.

* * *

The trail was simple.

Follow the path that made you feel sadder and more disappointed and you'll get to the source of our problem. With the added help of his special sunglasses- that prevents the harsh glow of the Ediseas sun from ruining your vision- the way seemed clear enough.

And soon enough, he'd spotted them.

A chilling shadow looking thing glided across the musty terrain. With his Adroits custom made sunglasses, he could see the air swirl around the shadow with a deadly green glow. There were simply no other words to describe what the Doctor was witnessing. The aura it emitted was paralyzing, like death clung to it's very skin.

_Oh dear, I think I've sent J.K. on too many petrifying adventures. I'm even starting to think one of her Potterheads._

The Doctor was too preoccupied with his thoughts on the shadow looking thing that he failed to notice a redheaded boy struggling to get away from the shadow.

The boy tripped on a gnarled tree root and he fell, bottom-first onto the damp forest floor. Around them, the wind rattled the tree's branches like the woods were laughing at the boy's misfortunes.

The boy let out another piercing scream and the Doctor snapped into action. He looked down from his small cliff searching for a way down. The boy yelled, "Marissa! Where the bloody hell are you?!"

Even before he saw the shadow move faster, the Doctor knew he was too far. A thinner portion of the shadow stretched out, almost like a hand trying to grab its victim. The ginger whimpered, covering his ears and burying his head in his hands. _Well, no time to think. _With an ear-splitting battle cry, the Doctor ran and heard blood roar in his ears like never before.

His legs carried him close to the encounter and put himself squarely between the boy and the shadow. Up close, the dark gloomy ghost glared brighter than ever. The Doctor couldn't understand how such a creature can be both dark and luminous at the same time. The outline groaned like it was frustrated but he didn't completely stop.

"Halt!" He drew his sword and cut a pattern through the ghostly figure. With a final shriek, the ghost evaporated into the air.

The Doctor allowed himself a few minutes to catch his breath before processing the information. "How peculiar..." He said to himself. "That- if I recall- was... No it can't be..."

A quite shuffling from behind him caught his attention and he turned to face the enemy, holding his rapier out in front of him.

"Umm sir. Thank you very very much but uhh... Do you mind if you put that away?" The ginger looked up through muddy spectacles. The Doctor blinked and nodded politely, "Oh I do apologize. I was just making sure there weren't more of those pesky Nox around."

The boy opened his mouth and closed it again, thinking to keep his question to himself but curiosity got the better of him, "Pardon?" He took the Doctor's outstretched hand and he got on his feet.

"Yes, the Nox. A couple of highly advanced, highly ancient race of aliens living in the farthest regions of the galaxy. They could possibly be the most dangerous things you could ever come across, reasonably indestructible, bred for occupation and destruction I just scattered one into a billion different air particles into your atmosphere. Now," He asked, dusting the boy's wrinkled coat and muddy trousers. "What planet are we on?" And bent down to look the boy straight in the eye.

"Ah-Ahh-A-Addleston, North England, sir. Who are you?" He took a step back, hoping this man wasn't more dangerous than the Ghost he had just faced. The Doctor paced in front of the boy muttering under his breath.

The boy caught snatches of the strange man's conversation with himself. Words like, _Can't be_, or _Time vortex was too weak, _or possibly even _I'm craving for some cereal oats... _floated around the boy's weary head.

"Sir!" He said again, louder this time. The Doctor only seemed to remember the presence of this boy in front of him.

"Who are you?" He peered at the boy with mud caked on his forehead. The boy let out an exasperated sigh, "I was asking you the same question!"

The Doctor straightened his bow tie and nodded to the boy, "Then we both say our names at the same time." Before the boy could register what the man had said he was beginning to count down.

"Three.."

"Wait just a minute!"

"Two.." The boy protested but the Doctor wouldn't stop.

"One, zero! I'm the Doctor." The man who introduced himself as the Doctor smiled.

The boy meanwhile stared at him blankly. "Doctor wh-?" But at the same moment, the two heard a voice calling out.

"HENRY!" The voice sounded very feminine and it was soon followed by footsteps.

Henry scrambled to get to the top of the steep cliff. "That's Marissa!" He looked to the Doctor and motioned for him to help him up. "We need to get to her." The Doctor seemed to understand the situation and pushed the boy up to reach a root sticking out.

A couple more tries and the duo collapsed on the cliff's edge, exhausted and panting. "Over here, Thomas!" The voice called out again. By that time, both Henry and the Doctor were too tired to respond.

A girl clad in a grey skirt and grey cardigan ran up to them. She bent down to help Henry to his feet. A boy similarly dressed with Henry and Marissa closely followed. The Doctor assumed that they were friends, or at the very least, schoolmates.

"Oh Henry!" The girl exclaimed, pulling the boy into a fierce hug. Henry looked pleased and enjoyed the hug with a bright red face. The boy behind the two looked at them with irritation.

"We did tell you to stick close." The boy commented.

"Tomas is right. You shouldn't have run off like that." Marissa let Henry go.

The Doctor grinned, glad to see Henry safe with his friends. "Hullo there, friends of Henry." "We are _not _friends with him," The other boy muttered.

"Sorry to interrupt the reunion but I'd-" The Doctor was cut off by the boy he guessed was Tomas.

"Stay back, Marissa!" He put himself in front of his two friends protectively. "Tomas, stop that! We need to help him." Marissa said, annoyed.

"Yeah, Tim." Henry said. "It's Tom, idiot." He snapped.

Henry snorted, "Yeah, whatever. That man is the Doctor. He saved me and even managed to defeat the Ghost!"

_That's it, Henry! _The Doctor cheered.

Marissa visibly relaxed and her eyes lit up with a curious expression. "That's wonderful!" The Doctor smiled brighter at the girl's curiosity. _I'm starting to like these two, _he said to himself.

Tomas snarled, "That doesn't mean he's not possibly dangerous. He could be a drug dealer for all we know. Didn't they warn us about those quack doctors who sell cigarettes. Don't let your guard down, Marissa." The Doctor frowned. _Not so sure about this one._

The Doctor sighed and held his hands in the air. "Alright, you got me. I was in the forest hoping to sell my cigars to some of the friendly trees who wanted to get high. I'm so ashamed. I've been awful. Please take me away, officer." He feigned with exaggerated drama.

He could see Henry and Marissa sniffling a giggle behind their hands. The Doctor grinned. Tomas' face turned brighter and stammered, "Are you making fun of me?"

"Oh come on, now. Was it _that_ obvious?" The Doctor smiled and approached the trio, patting Tomas' head.

"The more important question right now is: Do you have any cereal with you?" The trio looked at him with odd expressions. "Cereal?"

"Oh yes! Cereal. The most fundamental part of your daily breakfast. Take if with milk or take it alone and it would still taste wonderful. Is it chilly here or is it just me?" He asked, puffing out deep breaths of air.

Marissa shook her head, "It feels just fine to me."

A moment later, the Doctor dropped to the ground wheezing and curling into a ball in an attempt to stay warm.

"Find out what's the matter with him!" Tomas barked out orders and the three of them dropped to their knees, already too used to this routine.

Marissa was the first one to spot it.

On the Doctor's right wrist, a blue blotch spread out like a river flowing into multiple streams. The Doctor's veins were visible and his skin was wet and icy.

"We need to get him out of here." She said. "Fast."


End file.
